(Business coaching services) Rules of the Road Can Keep Business Owners Ahead of Growth Curves
No commentsBy Laurie Taylor
Most entrepreneurs rebel against following rules. It’s that go-for-broke attitude that has started many successful ventures and those ventures didn’t start out by observing rules.
However, a thorough understanding of what stage of growth your company is in will provide a business owner with critical rules of the road that help business owners, with fewer than 500 employees, focus on critical aspects of their company.
As the President of a $12 million company that grew beyond my expectations, I struggled to find ways to engage employees in understanding what was needed to manage that growth. And I struggled against the overwhelming feeling of frustration in trying to manage all the challenges being thrown our way every day.
Once I began to understand the stages of growth and could articulate the rules of the road for our current stage of growth, those challenges became easier to manage. Why?
Because I was talking a language each employee in my company could understand and I could carve out three or four areas of focus instead of 20 or 30. It was getting focused on the critical rules of the road for my company when the dot-com blowup of March 2000 took out 30% of my staff that saved us from the brink of bankruptcy.
I’ve outlined two of the five critical rules of the road for each stage of growth.
As you read them and identify your stage of growth, simply add these two critical areas to your current strategic plan and watch your focus get laser-sharp and your productivity rise.
Stage 1: 1 to 10 employees
– Generate, track and preserve cash
– Focus 80% of your resources on selling the 2 to 3 offerings with the best margins
Stage 2: 11 to 19 employees
– Sell absolutely every day
– Develop, without fail, three employees to be responsible, accountable and proactive
Stage 3: 20 to 34 employees
– Without fail, clarify and strengthen any and all communication with your employees
– Delegate responsibility and authority to capable supervisors and meet with them regularly
Stage 4: 35 to 57 employees
– Hire and effectively train professional department managers who are responsible and accountable
– Establish a strict company project management template
One rule that you may not want to know about says: What you don’t get done in your current stage of growth will not just go away. The rules in each stage of growth need to be addressed and if they aren’t, you will face them again as you move to the next stage of growth.
Stage 5: 58 to 95 employees
– Integrate the management team into an inter-dependent, executive-focused leadership unit
– Establish a fully integrated living budget by revenue group and by department
Stage 6: 96 to 160 employees:
– Without fail, establish a two to three day new staff orientation
– Without fail, secure regular one-on-one supervisor/employee meetings
Stage 7: 161 to 500 employees:
– Overhaul the business model to optimize direction and margins
– Set up an enterprise management/leadership succession system.
Growing a business demands every minute of your energy, resources and brain power. The good news is you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. By understanding your stage of growth, by knowing what the rules of the road are for each stage of growth, you will have headlights to help you navigate the curves and get ahead of the obstacles.
Laurie Taylor is a business growth specialist. Laurie specializes in a unique growth model ‘The 7 Stages of Growth’ and helps business owners successfully navigate their own growth curve. Learn more about the 7 Stages of Growth at http://www.igniteyourbiz.com.
Selecting a Specific Business to Buy
By PG PG
Where to look for buying and selling businesses online
People looking for alternative income opportunities try their hands at business. It liberates them from the need to work under anyones supervision and compromise the needs of personal life. An entrepreneur can either buy a business or can prefer to start from the scratch. In either of the situations, a person needs to remember that stepping into a business venture requires lots of dedication, time and effort on ones part. For achieving success in his chosen field, a business owner needs to plan carefully. He also needs to venture in to a business that is suitable for him.
It does not make any sense for a person to start a business in which he does not have much interest. For succeeding in a business venture, a person needs to select a service or product he is knowledgeable in. For joining in certain type of businesses one needs to possess expertise and knowledge in the subjects. If a person is confident about his knowledge and expertise in a particular business, he can search for Business for sale.
Prior to buying a business a person needs to consider whether his schedule and lifestyle will give him the scope to concentrate on the business. Some businesses are very demanding and the business owners need to dedicate all their time after these ventures for succeeding. However, there are some other businesses that give the entrepreneurs freedom and flexibility.
Another important factor many business entrepreneurs need to consider is the amount of monetary investment the business requires. Everybody has a certain economic capacity and investing after a business after acquisition beyond his capacity is not recommended. In many circumstances, people need to renovate the set up and infrastructure of a business they have bought.
After zeroing in on the business one would like to acquire, he should spend some time in doing the market research. It is imperative for an entrepreneur to spot his target customers. One can not become a millionaire overnight but he should set time specific targets for taking his business to greater heights. Recruiting workers in his organization is an uphill task for any business owner and he should give enough importance to this part.
One needs to market a product that has high demand but inadequate supply in a region. It is always advisable to start business of a product or service whose demand is in nascent stage and will take a lot of time to reach saturation level. Timing is crucial for succeeding in any business. Searching in the Internet will enable a person to learn about the demand and supply scenario of some products in a particular region. The online forums are quite helpful in this context.
BusinessesForSaleCo.com is a site that offers professional help and service to people willing to buy and sell businesses. One can locate several types of franchises for sale on this site. It has basic and advanced search features for the convenience of the viewers.
Article Source : Article King Pro - Free Reprints and Distribution
Paul G is author of this article on Businesses For Sale.
Find more information about Buying a Business here.
Think And Grow Rich In Your Home Business
By Ben Needles
Life can seem like a roller coaster. Day jobs dont give us the energy to do what we love. You have a world of opportunity; however, there seems no room to live that life. Your mind is a powerful computer. In fact the most powerful ever existed, and can be used to make you think and grow rich.
Even though your environment looks like it blocks you, it offers you the greatest of opportunities. You maybe in a job which looks like you will never get to live the life of your dreams. However, you have many routes to success.
Usually, we will have thoughts that we need lots of money to make money, you need a great upbringing, education, and many other things. However, these things are all excuses. It is a fallacy to believe that you need money to succeed, that you need rich parents or even a home.
Some of the most successful in life have started from nothing and became something. In fact almost all people today, who are wealthy and rich, have become so, because they started from nothing and became something.
I was watching Bloombergs financial channel, and saw one of the quotes on there. I cant remember who it was exactly, but the quote said that art is taking something from nothing and selling it for money. I thought to myself this is exactly how riches are made. How men can think and grow rich.
Before I get ahead of myself, it is best to explain more about this practical computer - our minds. Imagine as you sit and read this. What will you do after? If you did not think of what you wanted to do, would you do it? Animals would eat when hungry, and drink when thirsty. However, as humans, we have the ability of choice. If your belly is empty, you can fill it or you can say I will eat later.
This power is amazing. It crafts careers, it makes a couple decide to get married for life, it makes war and peace, it makes friends and enemies, and crafts people from lowly beginnings to become great people. Ones which everyone counts on for inspiration, joy, a living. Look at Bill Gates, a thought in his mind when reading a magazine later was what allowed him to decide to leave Harvard, and start Microsoft.
What do you want? What is rich for you? Would you rather be rich or wealthy? These are important questions to consider. You can transform your life. You dont need money, you can start now. But, how can you get rich, with your definition?
I take it that we are on the same wavelength, you are thinking of at least 6 figures to be considered rich. Now, there are only 2 ways that it becomes possible. One is a business and the other is sales.
A home business is a great thing indeed. Some of the biggest companies of the world started as the equivalent of home business. Whether in the kitchen, bedroom or wherever they could set up a business, they did. The result is that some of these companies are Fortune 500 companies. In fact, I started in such a way. Under-funded, and with many obstacles, I managed to go from nothing to something.
How did they do it? It was done because of the ability to think and grow rich. To have an idea, a worthy ideal, which others wanted. By giving this service, people paid them this money. More they served, more came.
The rich get richer, while the poor get poor. There is a big difference in the two. One works opposite of the other. While the majority may not be considered poor, they dont realize what they have. This kind of thought causes them to not try.
Your greatest asset is the ability to think, and also the privilege of being in a country and a world which gives you all the resources you need to succeed - if only you could see them.
About the Author (text)
A simple way to find some of the greatest and latest home business ideas is by visiting http://www.successu.co.uk or visiting http://www.usatodayarticles.info for more information about what is making money.
Business Coaching Information From A Professional Source
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 12:20 pm and is filed under business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
